Introduction

Hello, friends and welcome to the first episode of The Pondering Education Podcast. I’m your host, Ryan McHale, and it’s an honor to be here with all of you. On today’s show, I speak with MrDtimes3 himself, Joe Dombrowski. I’m sure you all remember him from his multiple appearances on The Ellen Show in response to his now-famous Spelling Test Prank – a video that has garnered over 2.5 million views on his personal youtube page alone! I had the pleasure of speaking with this amazing teacher whose passion for education is simply infectious.

Before we get to that, I’ll just tell you a little bit about myself…

About Me

I’m in the middle of my 8th year as an English Language Arts teacher in Milford, Massachusetts. Currently, I’m working with 8th graders in hopes of getting them academically and socially prepared for the challenges that await them in high school. In addition to fulfilling my role as a classroom teacher, I serve as the Curriculum Team Leader for the ELA/Reading Department, serve as an advisor to the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, and I’m currently working to earn my Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of New England.

On a personal note, I live in Milford with my wife and two young children. In my spare time, you’ll find me taking in a concert from bands such as Phish, Dead and Company, Dave Matthews Band, and Pearl Jam. I absolutely love living in the same area as my students as it’s helped forge tremendous relationships with families all across town.

My goal with this podcast and the blog posts found on ponderingeducation.com is a two-fold. I want to not only use this platform to help remind us all why we entered into the field of education as well as help pass along best practices from experts all around the country and the world for that matter. What you won’t find here is overly negative commentary. While constructive criticism is both helpful and necessary at times, we all know that this job isn’t an easy one. The last thing you need to is be reminded of the multitude of those roadblocks we encounter throughout a given school year. Instead, let’s accentuate the positive! Let’s work collaboratively to strengthen that intrinsic motivation that exists within all of us.

Let’s Get this Party Started!

So thank you again for joining me here on The Pondering Education Podcast. Without further adieu, here’s my interview with the great Joe Dombrowski. Enjoy!